Chain Store Age
Just as 2020 took retailers by storm and taught brands a lesson or two in resilience, 2021 held its own surprises.
The vaccine rollout and the return of many Americans to work proved positive for overall sales. However, retailers continue to face a number of other challenges, including supply chain issues that are still hampering the shipping and delivery of goods.
Moving into 2022, everyone is looking forward to hopefully getting back to normal and moving past the pandemic. It goes without saying that in the world of retail some things have inherently changed for good, and merchants will continue having to pivot around massive disruption and changing consumer expectations for the foreseeable future.
Here are five retail predictions for 2022 that retailers should prepare for now:
1) Continued supply chain issues will force retailers to put renewed focus on updating inventory control systems.
2) Positive shipping and delivery experiences will become the largest deciding factor to whether a brand survives.
3) New ways to pay are catching on and will be a major opportunity for merchants to boost sales revenue.
4) Retailers will need to ramp up their omnichannel strategies to meet consumers wherever and whenever they choose to shop.
5) Headless technology will become the future of business-to-business commerce.
The Strawhecker Group (TSG) and the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) surveyed U.S. consumers to understand spending habits, payments preferences, and opinions on emerging payment technologies this holiday season.
Read some of the highlights below and download TSG and ETA’s infographic, Consumer Spend Sparks Holiday Cheer.
Quick Hits
- 78% of respondents plan to spend the same or more than they did last year, a 14% increase from last year’s poll
- 56% are worried about shipping delays and 47% are worried about the safety of shopping in-store due to COVID
- Spending data shows a 14% increase in total transactions year-over-year, according to TSG’s Acquiring Industry Metrics (AIM) platform
- Plus, consumers are spending almost 7% more on their retail eCommerce transactions year-over-year
- 84% of consumers plan to shop online, but almost as many, 72%, will spend time shopping in-person
- 67% of BNPL users plan to keep using these services this year, compared to 48% last year, meaning popularity has grown 19%!